More than three years after Governor Christie came to the Meadowlands Sports Complex to trumpet a new vision for the stalled Xanadu shopping and entertainment project, he returned on Monday to unveil revised plans with officials from Triple Five, the new developer of the revamped project now dubbed American Dream Meadowlands.

The latest announcement came with plenty of new details, including a revised opening date target of fall 2016; the unveiling of a planned 20-story “drop ride” billed as the world’s tallest; and renderings of the proposed 639,000-square-foot indoor amusement park and water park that will feature 80-foot-high glass walls that allow drivers on nearby highways to see in — and park revelers to see out.

Joining Christie were countless construction workers, including more than 100 who stood behind the governor as he promised to make sure that Triple Five will prioritize “getting that ugly outside [color scheme] the hell off the building.”

The features

Key components of American Dream Meadowlands, according to the project developer’s website and previous announcements this year:

More than 400 retailers, restaurants, and services, including “global retail |influenced by high streets from Bond Street to La Rambla to Soho”

639,000-square-foot indoor amusement park and water park complex

Indoor ski and snowboard park |12 stories high and 800 feet long

Observation wheel similar to the |London Eye

200-foot “drop ride” similar to |bungee jumping

Performing arts center that seats 2,400 to 3,000

National Hockey League-sized |ice rink

180,000-square-foot movie complex with more than 5,000 seats |(700 of them VIP)

Aquarium featuring more than 10,000 “sea creatures”

18-hole miniature golf course

The event provided Christie with an opportunity to come through on a pledge he made to construction workers when they endorsed his reelection last year: to put them back on the job. The Republican governor secured the support of many unions, including Laborers International Union of North America, which had backed Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine four years earlier. The unions cited Christie’s vocal support of American Dream and other developments as well as his signing of the New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act, which offers corporate tax breaks to companies that create and retain jobs in the state. Many Laborers’ Union workers were noticeable in the audience, clad in orange T-shirts.

The sometimes grueling, intersecting sets of negotiations required over the past four years to get the American Dream Meadowlands project to this point were referenced by many of the speakers Monday.

Christie said that when he saw Nader Ghermezian, one of the project’s chief executives, backstage, “I told him I didn’t think I was actually going to have to get reelected [last fall] to see this construction start, but he and everyone in this project has put us all through our paces.”

Paul Ghermezian, another project executive whose company formally took over the project site in 2011, looked to Christie and said, “Governor, you were there, you sat in on the meetings, you pushed where you needed to push — you pushed us where you needed us to be pushed.”

Jon F. Hanson, the real estate mogul who served as Christie’s chief adviser on the project, referred to “many obstacles, some real and some perceived.”

And Rick Sabato, president of the Bergen County Building and Construction Trades Council, talked of the “long road” that came before Monday’s event.”

“Every time we thought we got over a hurdle, we had another hurdle in front of us,” Sabato said.

But there was even more talk about the future of the project.

Triple Five executive Tony Armlin said that steel for two new segments at the site, potentially designed for anchor retail tenants, would be shipped to the site within 60 days — with installation slated to start in midsummer. The revamp of the exterior — a combination of painting, vinyl coating, removal of panels and placement of new materials — is expected to occur from late June until fall, and restart in spring.

“We’re going to first create a neutral backdrop that takes away all the garish colors, and bring in white and light gray tones,” Armlin said, adding that “signage, graphics and accent pieces” will become evident in 2015 and 2016.

A display of a series of renderings showing “before and after” shots of the 2.3-million-square-foot unopened facility was shown by Paul Ghermezian, who referenced Christie’s “famous” quote that the former Xanadu might be “the ugliest damn building in New Jersey and maybe America.”

“It’s no secret — the facade is ugly,” Ghermezian said. “I don’t know how to begin to describe it. And I can tell you [Christie] was far from alone. We got your tweets, we got your emails — some people managed to get my cell number and texted me directly.”

Work this year on the water and amusement park site, which is close to the New Jersey Turnpike but will be tied to the existing structure via a “connector,” mainly will involve bringing in 8,000 truckloads of dirt and other materials, and driving 8,000 piles — with steel starting to go up next year, once the foundation is complete.

Paul Ghermezian said the huge glass facades of the indoor parks is designed to bring in enough natural light so that “you don’t feel like you’re indoors.”

Jim Kirkos, president of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, praised the signing of the labor agreement while saying, “with such compelling reasons to add a convention center or other venue, American Dream will not be the final facility [at the Meadowlands Sports Complex].”

Paul Ghermezian said that Triple Five remains interested in building a second phase at the site eventually, with a hotel and business meeting space among the potential additions.

State officials have said that the Izod Center — the only facility at the sports complex still operated by New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority — is expected to be turned over to a private operator. Paul Ghermezian said “a larger discussion” was still pending on whether Triple Five would be that operator, adding that even if not, the company would coordinate with any arena operator to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Gordon MacInnes, president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, criticized the state’s endorsement of a $390 million grant from the Economic Development Authority that he described as “the largest business tax subsidy New Jersey has ever awarded.”

Triple Five spokesman Alan Marcus said that the grant poses “no risk to taxpayers” because no money is put out up front by the state. The developer gets the tax savings only if the project is completed, and then only via a portion of tax revenues refunded for a limited time frame, he added.

The features

Key components of American Dream Meadowlands, according to the project developer’s website and previous announcements this year:

More than 400 retailers, restaurants, and services, including “global retail |influenced by high streets from Bond Street to La Rambla to Soho”

639,000-square-foot indoor amusement park and water park complex

Indoor ski and snowboard park |12 stories high and 800 feet long

Observation wheel similar to the |London Eye

200-foot “drop ride” similar to |bungee jumping

Performing arts center that seats 2,400 to 3,000

National Hockey League-sized |ice rink

180,000-square-foot movie complex with more than 5,000 seats |(700 of them VIP)